Thousands of illegal immigrants live in his district, especially in Cactus, where the biggest employer is Swift & Co., the meat packing plant raided by U.S. immigration authorities in December.

But the Dumas Republican has also been a legislator long enough (16 years) to know that immigration is a federal issue, even if he thinks Washington has done a lousy job protecting the southern U.S. border.

Swinford

So, with that in mind, Swinford, who also chairs the House State Affairs Committee, pretty much made this official Wednesday morning: Most illegal immigration-related bills coming before his committee will not see the light of day.

"What I am trying to do is to determine what Texas can or cannot do," he told reporters. "Immigration is not in our program."

Swinford said he made his decision after he and the other eight members of State Affairs consulted with Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. Abbott's office reviewed the bills and concluded that most are unconstitutional and would not survive a court challenge.

One measure in particular, House Bill 28 by Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, would deny basic public services such as education and health care to U.S.-born children whose parents are here illegally.

Speaking to another group of reporters and just a few feet from Swinford, Berman said he is furious that the State Affairs chairman, whom he considers a friend, arbitrarily decided to kill his legislation.

"All I'm asking is for my day in court," Berman said. "All I am asking is that my bills are heard."

Another of Berman's bills under fire, particularly from Hispanic legislators and immigrant rights advocates, is HB 29, which would impose an 8 percent tax on any money wired from Texas to Mexico or to any other Latin American country.

Rep. Jessica Farrar of Houston, the only Hispanic and one of only two Democrats on the State Affairs panel, praised Swinford for pulling the plug on more than two dozen immigration-related bills she and other Democrats consider not only unconstitutional but mean-spirited.

"I know that he probably agrees with many of those bills, but he is showing some real leadership," Farrar said in a separate interview.

Swinford indeed admitted that he likes some of the bills he is killing.

"Me, being a right-wing nut, I agree with some of those bills," he said. "But it's a waste of money, and that's not what I was sent (here) for."

Like other Democrats, Farrar said she thinks Swinford is also saving the Legislature - and the Republican Party - a lot of grief because illegal immigration was shaping up as the most divisive issue of the 80th session. But despite all the tough GOP talk about illegal immigration and border security, bills like Berman's would only make things worse, especially in the House where the most contentious debates take place, she said.

"We don't need any more animosity," Farrar said. "We need to focus on solving the many issues that are for the benefit of our state."

Swinford said despite the fate of many of the bills related to illegal immigration, State Affairs will hold marathon hearings on the issue, and on Wednesday afternoon, the panel started doing just that. It began hearing testimony from about three dozen experts, a good number of them border-town mayors and law enforcement officials.

He also hopes the Legislature approves a resolution urging Washington to tackle the illegal immigration problem.

"We need to remind the federal government that controlling illegal immigration is their job, not a state's job," Swinford said.

To comment on this story:

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This story first appeared on LubbockOnline.com at 5:46 p.m. Wednesday.